Means for laying drainage material in the ground



K. WILLNER 3,031,854 NG DRAINAGE MATERIAL in THE GROUND May 1, 1962 MEANS FOR LAYI 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 22, 1957 m ewzan' K .Hz/ LL12 er a 1, 1962 WILLNER 3,031,854

MEANS FOR LAYING DRAINAGE MATERIAL IN THE GROUND Filed Oct. 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor's lfHZ/LLn/er MEANS FOR LAYING DRAINAGE MATERIAL IN THE GROUND Kurt Willner, Hohenzollernring 43, Munster, Westphalia, Germany Filed Oct. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 691,690 Claims priority, application Germany Oct. 25, 1956 4 Claims. (Cl. 61-72.6)

This invention relates to a means for introducing drainage material, for instance ballasting material consisting of gravel or small stones, or continuous pipe lines or cables, or lengths of piping, of earthenware for example, into the ground. For such laying, open trenches have hitherto often still beenmade. The soil is stored at the side of the open trench, and is filled in again after the pipes, cables or the like have been laid. Such a method is tedious and costly.

The procedure using apparatus according to the present invention consists in the feature that a clod of earth shaped as a solid wedge is cut out and temporarily raised, with the formation of lateral gaps between the clod and the ground, and the drainage material, such as gravel or broken stone ballast, or the lines or lengths of piping, are introduced through these lateral gaps.

In the plow body according to the invention, the plow shares, together with guide plates, form a clod of substantially triangular cross section, converge in a rearwardly ascending channel, and stand obliquely to the direction of motion, so that with the cutting surfaces they form lateral gaps for the introduction of the drainage material.

In a further constructional form, underneath the shares and the guide plates, an outer wall is provided, which converges forwardly with the shares and, serves as a guide, and which forms, with the shares, a rearwardly diverging space, which is of V-shaped construction transversely to the direction of motion.

In the region of the gaps, according to a further feature of the invention, there is a duct for the introduction of the drainage material, which preferably extends at an inclination to the ground, and merges into the direction of the ground with a smooth curve.

To the channel formed by the shares is connected a bearing plate or the like, the object of which is to indent in its lower edge the clod of earth slipping away over the channel. When the clod of earth falls back into the profile of the trench a free space can thus be formed, in which room is to be found for the drainage material, the pipes or cable for example.

The plow body may alternatively be constructed in such a Way that the shares and guide plates, with the outer plate serving as a guide, converge on one side in a surface which constitutes the cutting surface, or are even omitted, so that in the latter case the formation of a gap for the introduction of the drainage material is effected only on one side.

For using the plow body in heavy ground, in the neighbourhood of the shears, ducts with outlet apertures may be provided which arecharged with a friction-reducing li uid.

Further details of the invention will be gathered from the accompanying drawings, and from the description referring thereto.

Several constructional examples of the invention are illustrated in these drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in perspective, a plow body, which forms a gap on each side;

FIGURE 2 shows a discharged clod of earth, obtained by the use of the plow body of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a further constructional form of a plow body, in which on one side the shares and the guide plates lie in one plane;

United Sttes Patent FIGURE 4 shows the cross-sectional form of a raised clod of earth, with gap, obtained by the use of a plow body according to FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 shows a further construction-a1 example of a plow body, in which the share, the guide plate and the guiding plate on one side are missing;

FIGURE 6 shows, as a form of construction by way of example, a plow body according to FIGURE 1, in connection with a self-laying track tractor, in the front arms of which the plow body is adjustably suspended; and

FIGURE 7 shows a plan view of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 shows the plow body of FIGURE 1 with an adjustable tube level arranged upon the plow body; in place of which other known level devices for ascertaining the inclination of the appliance may also be employed.

The plow body represented in FIGURE 1 has shares 1, 2, which merge into guide plates 7, 8. The shares 1, 2, with the guide plates 7, 8, converge below in a rear- Wardly ascending channel 9, which is shown dotted in FIGURES l, 3 and 5. Underneath the guide plates 7, 8, a V-shaped outer Wall 4, 5 is provided as a guide, which converges with the shares 1 and 2 in front, and in this way forms, with the guide plates 7 and 8, and plates 40, 41, 42, and 43 a box-like structure resistant to bend ing having a rearwardly divergent wedge-shaped profile, so that between the plates 4, 7 and the plates 5, 8 there is in each case a space which widens in a rearward direction. This outer wall formed by the walls 4 and 5 forms a lower edge 6 which, owing to the arrangement of all the walls, forms an acute angle with the channel 9. To complete the explanation of the method of working of the appliance, the direction of forward movement is denoted by an arrow, which is marked with the reference 3. As a continuation of the rearwardly ascending channel 9, a bearing plate 13 is provided, which ascends relatively to the channel 9 projects beyond the rear edges of the walls 7 and 8, and is for the purpose of indenting the lower edge of the clod.

On the shares'l and 2, outlet apertures 16 are provided, which formthe ends of ducts, which can be charged with water or other liquid, for the purpose of diminishing the friction between the soil and the walls 4, 7, 5 and 8.

The method of operation of the appliance illustrated in FIGURE 1 will be gathered from FIGURE 2. The appliance is hauled or pushed by any convenient tractor in the direction of the arrow 3, the clod 10 shown in FIGURE 2 being cut out, and owing to the inclined rearwardly ascending channel 9 and the corresponding arrangement of the plates 7 and 8, being also raised. In this raised position the clod 10, in conjunction with the soil 15, forms lateral gaps 12. So long as the clod 10 is in the raised position, therefore, a pipe line 17, or successive lengths of piping, can be introduced laterally, there being provided, for the introduction of this pipe line 17, a duct 11, which may be provided in the space between the plates 4 and 7 in an oblique direction, and merges underneath the channel 9, in a smooth curve, in the direction of the bottom of the trench. As the clod 10 slips over the bearing plate 13 the lower edge of the clod is somewhat indented at 18 by the bearing plate 13, thereby providing sufficient room for the pipe line 17.

The outer walls 4 and 5 shown in FIGURE 1, which transmit to the soil the forces arising as the clod It is lifted, are not absolutely essential in firm ground, when the shares, with the guide plates 7 and 8, are held in an inclined position, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, by any convenient means, since in this case, owing to the position of the plates 7 and 8, a lateral gap formation is effected.

The appliance shown in FIGURE 3 is distinguished from the appliance according to FIGURE 1 by the fact that the plates S and of FIGURE 1 are united in the cutting surface to form a single plate 5 so that only the plate 4 and guide plate 7 are connected by plates 40 and 41 to form a box-like structure. The representation contained in FIGURE 4 shows that with such an appliance a gap formation 12 occurs only on one side, the clod slipping up upon the cut surface 15 of the other flank of the cut-out. With this apparatus a Wider gap :12 can be produced with the same expenditure of energy, so that even for pipe lines or cables of relatively large diameter there are no restrictions in laying.

If the cutting of the clod of earth is eifected by special leading cutters, the cutting edge 2 remote from the insertion gap, and the guide plate 5, may be wholly or partly omitted with certainkindsof soil, for instance firm soil.

In FIGURE 5 such a constructional example for a plow body is illustrated, in which however the rearwardly ascending channel 9 is retained.

' In FIGURES 6 and 7 the plow body shown in FIG- URE 1 is illustrated in connection with a self-laying track tractor, which has two forwardly extending arms 21, which are connected with one another by a transverse strut 22. On the ends of these arms the plow body, with the shares 1 and 2, is rockably suspended by joints 23. Above the arms 21 is arranged a carrying system consisting of bars 24 and 25. These bars form joints 26, to which hydraulically actuated press cylinders 27' are attached, by which the position of the plow body, with the shares 1 and 2, is adjustable. The remainder of the construction of the tractor is immaterial so far as the operation of this invention is concerned. Its forward movement is effected in a generally known manner by track elements 28. Instead of the plow being pushed, it may alternatively be hauled. It may even be arranged in an independent. vehicle.

FIGURE 8 shows the individual view of a plow body as seen from the side. The FIGURE shows the position of a plow body when working in the soil. It is generally known that drainage pipes must have a slight inclination, in order that the waste water may have some fall. The FIGURE shows an auxiliary device 30, which is arranged on the upper edge of the plow body, and which may for example consist of a pipe level. This pipe level is secured in the middle by means of a joint 35; while on one side a spring 31 is provided, and .on the other side an adjusting screw 32, with which the level can be so adjusted to the sole of the plow body that the bubble centres when the sole assumes the predetermined angle of inclination 34.

In FIGURE 2 the gap 12 located on the right-hand side is filled with percolating material, such as gravel, small stones or rubble. For the introduction of this material a plow body is advantageous which, though substantially corresponding to FIGURE 1, includes at thetop a filling aperture 37 in the space between the guide plate 8 and the guiding plate 5. This opening is connected with a curved plate 38 for guiding the material, which terminates in an aperaure 39 at the rear. The plates 5 and 8 are connected with one another by a stiffening gusset, in the form of a plate 42, and an angular corner plate 43.

I claim:

1. A plow for laying drainage conduit at levels beneath the ground surface, comprising side wall structures converging downwardly and connected at the outer faces of their merging lower edges along a fore-and-aft line which is generally horizontal; one of said side wall structures being formed of spaced wall elements which diverge from one another in the rearward direction from an earth-penetrating forward plowshare edge, and means interconnecting said wall elements to secure them in spaced relation and defining a duct therebetween from an upper surface of said one side wall structure to a lower rearwardly-open conduit exitlocated near the region at which the rear margins of said side wall structures merge with one another; the inner faces of said side wall structures being so merged as to define a fore-and-aft channel which ascends from front to rear of the plow andterminates above the level of saidexit, to lift the plowed earth clear of said exit and of conduit'issuing therefrom.

2. A plow in accordance with claim 1,.and aclod-indenting bearing plate secured at the merging inner faces of said side wall structures immediately above said exit.

3. A plow in accordance with claim 1, in which said side wall structures are of equal vertical height.

4. A plow in accordance with claim 1, in which the other of said side wall structures is of substantially less vertical height than said one side wall'structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 180,044 Lucas July 18, 1876 668,362 Tornlinson Feb. 19, 1901 1,876,979 Larson Sept. 13, 1932 1,886,510 Murphy Nov. 8, 1932 1,969,949 Stranz et al. Aug. 14, 1934 2,703,044 Adair Mar. 1, 1955 2,815,725 Hanson Dec. 10, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 561,003 Germany Oct. 8, 1932 OTHER REFERENCES Publication: Agronomy Journal, Vol. 48, pages 192- 193, April 1956. 

